Welcome to CPSC’s Podcast for Friday, August 31, 2007. I’m Patty Davis.

School has started across the country for many students. CPSC is urging parents to put safety at the top of their lists of things to do. Pay special attention to helmets, art material and back-to-school clothing. Parents and school officials should also look for hidden hazards on playgrounds and on soccer fields that could sideline kids with injuries or may even be deadly.

CPSC’s Nikki Fleming is joining me to talk about back to school safety. Welcome Nikki.

[Nikki]: Thank you.

[Patty]: We both have kids going back to school. We know what parents are going through. What is the first thing parents should look for when shopping for clothing, for instance, for their children?

[Nikki]: As the seasons change, one of the things I’m shopping for now is jackets and outwear. One of the things you need to be aware of is drawstrings can be hazardous and get caught on playground equipment, or school bus doors and can cause strangulation. In fact, over the last 20 years, we’ve had 23 reports of deaths here at CPSC from drawstring-related injuries.

[Patty]: Next up – let’s talk about art supplies. What should you look for when you’re buying art supplies?

[Nikki]: You want to look for the ASTM standard conformance label which would appear on the art supplies. Art should be fun so you want to go ahead and make sure that kids have a good time and make sure that the products haven’t been recalled. You can check that at cpsc.gov.

[Patty]: Now my daughter says her favorite class is, of course, recess. Is she safe out there?

[Nikki]: Actually, falls on playground equipment accounts for over 200,000 hospital emergency room injuries every year. So you want to make sure that your playground at your school actually has the proper surfacing such as mulch, sand, rubber mats that conform to, that and have been safety tested.

[Patty]: And also make sure that your school has covered exposed hardware that can catch clothing. And, what about free hanging ropes?

[Nikki]: You want to remove any free hanging ropes. Both are strangulation hazards you want to avoid.

[Patty]: Soccer goals can be dangerous too?

[Nikki]: Yes, portable soccer goals are particularly dangerous. If they’re not properly anchored they can tip over and fall on children. Since 1979, CPSC has had 28 reports of deaths from soccer goals.

[Patty]: And what about helmets? How important are they in certain sports?

[Nikki]: Parents should look for the particular helmet that fits their particular sport. They are actually made for the purpose of that particular sport. You can look, for instance, wearing a bicycle helmet for biking, a football helmet for football, and a baseball helmet for baseball.

[Patty]: And what parents may not know is that bike helmets, for instance, can reduce your risk of head injury by about 85 percent. So, very important to wear a helmet. Thanks so much Nikki.

[Nikki]: Thank you.

[Patty]: You can find out more about back to school safety on our Web site at www.cpsc.gov. That’s it for this week’s podcast. Thanks for listening.

End.